Talent Lead

About this role

Zenskar is in hyper-growth mode. We're scaling past 100+ full-time employees across India and the US. We are building an A-lister team and processeses built to scale, not just get us through the next few hires.We need someone who can own talent acquisition end-to-end while also helping shape the HR side of the function as it grows.This is a Player-coach role: you'll lead a team of 3 across TA/HR + interns, while also staying hands-on yourself as an IC recruiter. The role is roughly 80% TA, 20% HR. You're the one running hiring day to day, and you're also the senior voice helping the HR team figure out process, policy, and the people-side of scaling, without owning day to day HR execution yourself.You'll own sourcing and pipeline across India and US roles, work directly with the co-founders on headcount planning and with hiring managers to keep requisitions moving, and partner with your Ops/admin teammates on the onboarding handoff. Alongside that, you'll spend time with the HR team mentoring, sanity-checking decisions, and helping figure out the frameworks (performance, policy, comp) that let HR scale.

What you'll own

Talent Acquisition (~80%)

Sourcing and pipeline: building and running sourcing strategy for open roles, keeping pipelines full enough that hiring managers are never waiting on youCo-founder and hiring manager partnership: sharpening JDs, running intake calls, and holding HMs accountable for fast, clear feedback on candidatesCandidate experience: running a screening and interview process that moves fast and treats candidates well, from first outreach to offerAgency and vendor coordination: managing external recruiting agencies where they're used (e.g., US hiring), keeping them accountable to quality and turnaroundReporting and process: tracking pipeline health, time-to-fill, and source effectiveness; flagging bottlenecks before they become escalationsOnboarding handoff: working with the Ops/Admin teammate so new hires land well, not just get a laptop and a Slack invite

HR mentoring and support (~20%)

Mentoring the HR team: being a sounding board for the HR team on judgment calls, escalations, and how to handle things they haven't seen beforeHelping figure out and guide HR, not run it day to day: working alongside the HR team on performance frameworks, policy, and process design, without owning execution of any of itConnecting TA and HR: making sure what you're seeing in the market and in hiring (comp benchmarks, candidate expectations, attrition signals) actually informs how HR builds its frameworks

What this role is

A doers’ seat: you're sourcing, screening, and closing candidates yourself, not just managing a dashboard.Coach and Manage: Manage the other TA and HR team members and their outcomes.Built for range: in a given week you might be closing a candidate, sitting in on a policy discussion, and coaching someone on how to handle a tricky HR conversationA growth track: as the team and function scale, this role is a natural path towards TA/HR leader

Best Fit

• 9-12 years of experience in Talent Acquisition, with genuine curiosity or prior exposure to HR/HRBP work

• Comfortable owning full-cycle recruiting independently - sourcing through offer - without heavy hand-holding

• Experience managing a team of 2 or more people in TA/HR

• Startup experience preferred: comfortable with ambiguity and building process as you go rather than inheriting one.

• Prior experience at a high-growth Series A–D B2B AI/SaaS company where you helped scale the TA motion during a growth phase

• Have seen a headcount scale from 80 employees to 300+

• Direct, plain communicator: with candidates, hiring managers, agencies, and the HR team alike

• Experience hiring for US roles from India is a strong plus, given the market gap that makes this hard to run solo

Location

• Hybrid - 2 days per week (Tuesday, Thursday)

• Office Location: Indiranagar, Bengaluru.

• Address: 3rd Floor, A wing No 1, Carlton Towers, HAL Old Airport Rd, HAL 2nd Stage, Indiranagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560008.

Interview Process

Our interview process is designed to be structured and efficient.

• R0 – Recruiter Screening: Quick conversation to assess basic fit and role expectations.

• R1 – Introductory Chat: We recommend reviewing the job description & Apurv's recorded videos before this step.

• Take-Home Assignment: Sent after the initial conversation with a 72-hour window.

• R2 – Assignment Discussion: 45-minute session with the team covering assignment walkthrough, CS operating depth, and problem-solving.

• R3 – Culture Fit (In-Office): 45-minute conversation, ideally in person if based in Bangalore.

• Reference Checks: Two former direct manager calls.

• R4 – Founder Round: 20-minute founder conversation.

How to apply

Please write to [email protected] 🙂

Skills

• HR

• Talent acqusition